cameron miksch's excellent bike ride
There are easier ways to support a cause than riding a bicycle 105 miles across Death Valley with the thermometer topping out at 104 degrees. The endeavor makes perfect sense, though, for Cameron Miksch, a Collegiate sophomore, and his father Jack.
This past Saturday, they and 80 other hardy souls hopped on their road bikes at 6 a.m., cycled the out-and-back course that included a torturous 1,300-foot climb that began six miles from the turnaround, then returned to base camp at Furnace Creek Ranch 10-1/2 hours later bone-tired, dehydrated, and ecstatic.
“For my Dad and me, it was the hardest thing we’ve ever done,” said Cameron. “It took us to the brink of exhaustion and back. “I’m not sure I’d do it again, but I’m really glad I did it.”
The event was called the Death Valley Spring Excursion. It was one of many fund-raisers sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a national organization with more than 100 chapters worldwide including one in Richmond.
The theme of this year’s ride was to find a cure for – not just a way to manage – the disease that affects 1 in 300 children. Cameron Miksch is one of them. That’s why he and his dad were there.
“This allowed me to combine my passion for biking with a very good cause,” said Cameron. “I’m making the statement that I have it. Who cares? I’m not any different from anybody else. This is my way of getting over it.”
Jack Miksch, a board member of the local JDRF chapter, broached the subject of the trek across Death Valley to Cameron last fall. Soon, they had new aluminum Giant OCR2 road bikes, the lightest (17 pounds) and most efficient, they determined, to handle the rigors of preparation and, ultimately, the ride.
In the ensuing months, they trained on the back roads of Goochland County, covering distances of 35 miles per outing with forays into the 50-, 60-, and even 70-mile range. Nothing, however, could totally prepare them for the travails of the seemingly endless roads through the California desert.
When they set out that morning, the temperature was 77 degrees, and the rising sun had yet to crest the mountains to the east. With relative ease, they sailed through the first two checkpoints at 17 and 30 miles, but then, around mile 35, they rounded a bend and ran smack into a 19 mile per hour headwind. Earlier, they had settled into a group with two other riders, and now each of the four took turns leading the way for stints of 10 minutes or so to allow the others to draft
As they approached the ascent at 46 miles, their two sidekicks turned back. Fighting wind and fatigue but determined to complete their mission, Cameron and Jack persevered. They knew that they could burn off as many as 6,000 calories as they challenged their limits. Wisely, they observed the advice of the experts on site to drink a liter of water an hour and eat at each rest station and on the move if necessary.
“The climb took us an hour and twenty minutes,” said Cameron, back in school Tuesday, his 16th birthday, after catching the red-eye home Monday and sleeping much of the day. “It was the worst part of the ride.”
When they finally attained the summit – Jubilee Pass – they took a half-hour respite to collect themselves and re-hydrate the best they could before heading back. Now, hurtling downhill at almost 35 miles per hour, they reached the foot of the incline in just 20 minutes. Riding the welcomed tailwind, they sped over the rolling hills along the mirage-filled highway with the desolate desert landscape stretching as far as they could see on both sides. Then, as they stopped at the checkpoint 30 miles from the end, they knew their ordeal was almost over.
“That’s when I thought, ‘This isn’t much. I can finish this quickly,’” recalled Cameron with a wry smile. “I didn’t eat enough at that station. That was bad judgment on my part. The last 20 miles, I was really low on energy. I was feeling exhausted, dehydrated.”
The last mile, mercifully, was downhill. Father and son coasted together through the finish. Their reward – an intense sense of triumph – far outweighed the utter fatigue that enveloped them.
“The feeling isn’t really something you can describe in words,” said Cameron. “It’s something you have to experience. When you’ve been out there all day and finally get to the finish, you know you’ve earned it. There’s a feeling of accomplishment for yourself, but sharing it with my father…not everybody gets to do that.”
